Iowa Education Brain Trust held a Parent Empowerment Congress on June 11, 2011. Three break out sessions were held; education, communication, and political. The members of EBT have determined a project that blends all three actions is the upcoming school board elections. The elections are to be held on Tuesday September 13th.

School board members are elected to four-year terms. The election is held every other year on the second Tuesday in September, and new members begin their term the following week. The board then elects a chair and vice chair from among its seven members. Appointment of the secretary and treasurer takes place before August 15 each year.

EBT and our partners are going into neighborhoods to educate, and register voters Teams of 5, or more, will be armed with candidate information (assuming the candidate has formally joined the race). A voter’s choice is based on; a candidate’s past voting record, their view on present issues. It must be the voter’s choice!

We are targeting under represented precincts within the central city. Precincts located in the neighborhoods of:

Political power is equivalent to economic power – today it is even more important to ensure our communities views are represented, and our children are academically successful in order to provide a healthy live style for themselves in their families. We must vote for who actually serves us not just gives good lip service.

An introduction to EBT and an explanation about what we are doing in the neighborhood.

A map of the assigned precinct

(Hopefully) Names of residents, as of 2010 Census (be sensitive to inconsistencies)

Questionnaires to help volunteer select candidate(s) the voter is interested to hear about.

An introduction of the candidate from their home webpage (each to be understood somewhat, by all volunteers)

Voting history (when available) for all candidates entered in the race.

Voter Registration forms

Voting locations, for precincts

Absentee ballot information

It is the job of the volunteer to politely and confidently ensure that all persons in their assigned precinct be a registered voter, or at least be personally offered the opportunity to register. There is also a new stipulation that every voter must have a valid ID to vote – we must also educate our community on attempts to keep us from voting.